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Woburn Ride passenger injured after her driver got out and another guy jumped in and sped down 93 to the O'Neill Tunnel, where he crashed, police say
By adamg on Wed, 09/06/2023 - 8:28pm
Remains of the vehicle. Photo by TPD.
Transit Police report that a woman in an MBTA Ride had to be hospitalized after a harrowing ride from Woburn to downtown Boston behind a guy who had jumped into the vehicle and sped off, around 3:30 p.m.
Police said the regular driver of the vehicle stopped on Elm Street in Woburn, then exited, leaving the woman behind and his keys in the ignition. Police say they think the driver had stopped and gotten out to help another passenger to his vehicle.
At this time a 34 year old male entered the vehicle and drove away. The male headed in the direction of Boston. The female passenger, who has intellectual challenges, began calling 911 seeking help/assistance.
Transit Police report state troopers, alerted to the 911 calls, found the Ride vehicle inside the O'Neill Tunnel, where they say Thomas Baldwin, 34, had crashed into three other vehicles and the tunnel wall. The guy ran from the scene and somehow found his way to Clinton Street and Surface Artery, in the area of Faneuil Hall Marketplace, where police arrested him.
The woman was taken to a local hospital with injuries not considered life threatening, police say.
Transit Police, who continue to investigate the incident, say Baldwin will face multiple motor-vehicle violations and likely a kidnapping charge.
The Ride driver, police say, is not facing any charges.
Innocent, etc.
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Comments
what
the absolute f u c k
I was going to post a screed
But all I can do for this one is thumbs up your response and move on.
How terrifying!
That poor woman - her physical injuries may not be life-threatening, but her emotional ones are certain to be life-changing.
let's not jump to conclusions...
"certain to be life-changing" sounds to me possibly a bit over the top. Yes this was horrible, but lots of folks who have had to deal with disabilities, and all the additional challenges that can result, are surprisingly resilient.
Minimizing
That doesn't mean that effects don't linger.
Has nothing to do with ability
Being kidnapped, particularly if you're a woman in our culture, is going to be traumatizing regardless of any other challenges you may have gotten over in life.
I stand by my wording
Being kidnapped is scary enough to be life-changing. Being kidnapped and having a disability makes it that much scarier because the disability reduces one's ability to escape or resist any further harm the kidnapper may intend. The report also says the victim has cognitive challenges, which may mean she had trouble understanding what was happening or need extra help processing this frightening traumatic experience.
FWIW, I speak as someone who's been attacked on transportation.
stupid people
I used to work behind the scenes at the Ride.
They know exactly where those cars at every waking moment of the day.
Regardless of the 911 call, that car would have been found, fast.
That poor lady in the car, what a terrorizing ride.
remote shutoff ?
remote shutoff ?
Could be a real bad idea
Depending on where the car was when it happened.
Unfortunately no
There's a tablet on the dash of that car. It's in a locked, anti-theft case that is screwed into the dash (so it cannot be removed).
That tablet has special software loaded onto it, and uses it's GPS function to talk back to the software at the Ride (that gives the drivers instructions on where to go next).
But in the RIDE service center, there are (or were when I was there) huge TVs that displayed where ever car was in the system. Pretty impressive.
(don't ask me the names of the software, I am drawing a blank.. cuz I need more coffee)
If only there were some
If only there were some technology that could remove screws. Damn these stone tools!
If it's anything like most expensive stuff that's out in public
They use security screws that the every day person is not likely to have hardware for, and often place the screws in places that are difficult to reach (which is a pain if you have to access the equipment for a legit reason, but that's another story).
Now, if you were running a The Town-style heist and had scoped everything out and had a specific plan, you could definitely work out a way to steal a Ride tablet, but someone who just sees an idling car and takes it for a joyride almost certainly isn't going to be able to do it.
old thread
but commenting for clarity cuz Uhub shows up in searches on the 1st page these days for Boston MBTA anything.
So the tablets are set to say that if they receive damage, they alert the call center. So you can't even smash one before it sends out an SOS.
These things are in like cases that you would see in a cop car or in a taxi. Very thick hard plastic cases. Literally nothing can take them out. They are meant to stay there. Its almost apart of the dash in some models.
fwiw.. these aren't ios or android tablets (although some are droid based OS's are starting to be used). These are custom tablets made for this purpose.
A driver speeding down 93? I
A driver speeding down 93? I hope they called cops.
Who was he
Who was he
Thomas Baldwin, 34
At least the last I heard from TPD, they don't yet know where he's from, though.
In fairness to the driver
Did he or she leave the vehicle with the engine running so his passenger could have the AC on in this heat wave?
Probably. And the other
Probably. And the other person was probably being helped very nearby. It probably happened so fast.
Pretty standard
I drove a wheel chair van for an ambulance companies years ago, and it was standard to leave the engine running when you had a client on board and were picking up a second one. The vans would get really hot (or cold, weather dependent) if you didn't, and I'm sure those Ride vehicles are the same way
Need to power the lift
I used to go swimming with a friend who was a chair user and I would drive the van for her.
The engine in her particular van had to be running before the lift could lower and raiser her up into the van. It had a remote start capability.
Completely reasonable that if the driver was setting up to board a chair user, the engine would remain on (also for the AC).
Riding with the T these days
is like riding the roller coaster at Revere beach in the late 60's, when there was a slight but real possibility of a death-defying trip resulting in actual death.
History of mental health hospitalization
Released from the hospital last week, then disappeared
https://whdh.com/news/man-accused-of-stealing-mbta-vehicle-appears-in-co...